In 1911 Irish Freedom, printed a letter from John Devoy of New York, a prominent Irish-American and ex-Fenian, pointing out that a German war was coming in the near future, that England would need conscription before it was over, and that Ireland must fight either for England or against her.
"The Evolution of Sinn Fein"
Robert Mitchell Henry
We shall have Ireland illumined with a light before which even the Martyrs' will pale: the light of Freedom, of a deed done and action taken and a blow struck for the Old Land"; and a month or so later: "The things that count in Ireland against English conscription are national determination, serviceable weapons and the knowledge of how to use them."
"The Evolution of Sinn Fein"
Robert Mitchell Henry
It was assuming something of a graver character, as Annette entered her fifteenth and Eugene his nineteenth year, when he was suddenly carried off to the army by the conscription.
"Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists"
Washington Irving